Rick Ross and Twista

It’s difficult to quite put your finger on how conventional Ross’ pre-hip hop life was, by the genre’s usual standards; he certainly didn’t have the most comfortable of upbringings, but it’s also fair to say that serving as a prison officer - as Ross did for a couple of years in the mid-nineties - is hardly something that’s a common occurrence in a genre of music with a general lack of regard for law enforcement. After addressing that particular issue on his commercial breakthrough record “Deeper Than Rap” in 2009, though - he’d initially denied that the rumours were true - he’s gone on to make himself one of the best-respected and most widely-revered rappers in the world, having been named Hottest MC in the Game by MTV in 2012. He’s probably best-known in the hip hop community for having created his own label, Maybach Music Group; named after his favourite brand of luxury car, Ross has signed the likes of Meek Mill, French Montana and Wale to the imprint.

In terms of his own solo career, Ross’ lyricism has usually focused on the decadent lifestyle he enjoys, with money and material possessions clearly his primary motivation. He frequently offsets that kind of imagery, though, against his struggles as a youngster, both with the law and with his family; it’s this dichotomy that makes him one of his genre’s most compelling artists. 2014’s “Mastermind” met with critical acclaim, even if it didn’t have a single quite as big as his signature song, “Hustlin’” - it’s testament to Ross’ work ethic, though, that it’s not the only new album he’ll release this year, with “Hood Billionaire” being readied, too.

Born on 27 November 1973 in Chicago, Illinois, Twista began rapping at the early age of twelve, and in 1992 he released his first album entitled “Runnin’ Off At Da Mouth” under the name Tung Twista.The next album, “Resurrection” was set to be released in 1994, however, due to marketing issues with his label, Atlantic Records, the album was only released in Chicago. Despite the lack of national attention for “Resurrection,” Twista dropped the “Tung” from his stage name and teamed up with producer The Legendary Traxster and Cwal for “Adrenaline Rush.” The album became his first charting album, peaking at Number 77 on the Billboard Hot 200.

In 1998 Twista teamed up with fellow Chicago rappers to form Speedknot Mobstaz; and together, they released “Mobstability.” That same year Twista formed a new label called Legit Ballin’ and released two compilation albums in 1999 and 2001. In the beginning of 2002, he started to work on his next album entitled “Kamikaze” which was later released in 2004. The album debuted at Number One on the American Billboard 200 album chart. One year later followed with “The Day After” and “Adrenaline 2007.” Unfortunately the letter didn’t do as well compared to his previous albums.

Twista released “The Perfect Storm,” his eighth studio album, in 2010. The album featured guest artists such as Waka Flaka Flame, Raekwon, Diddy and Ray J. Twista started to work on his next studio album in 2013 and in 2014 he released the first single of the album “Dark Horse.”